


Ripples of Hope

by DatHeetJoella



Category: Free!
Genre: Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, MakoHaru Zine: It's Meaningless Without You, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 12:23:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DatHeetJoella/pseuds/DatHeetJoella
Summary: On the night before they move to Tokyo, Haruka and Makoto relive one of the most special nights of their lives, but this time, their roles are reversed.





	Ripples of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone! This fic was my contribution to the MakoHaru charity zine, "It's Meaningless Without You". It's part of a collaboration with the amazing artist izzy-the-baka, whose beautiful piece was featured alongside this fic. It's been such an honour to work with so many wonderful creators, and I'm happy to finally be able to share this fic here too.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! ^^

Of all the places he had expected Haruka to take him in the middle of the night right before they were officially moving to Tokyo, the Iwatobi Swim Club Returns was at the bottom of the list. And yet, as Makoto was waiting while Haruka fumbled with the keys to open the door, he knew that he shouldn't be surprised because it couldn't have been anywhere but here.

Many questions were playing through his head, but since Haruka hadn't been willing to disclose where they were going and just told him that he would see when they got there, Makoto understood that the majority of his wonders were not going to be clarified with words, but rather with actions. Therefore, he settled with the one question that was most likely to get a verbal answer. "Where did you get the keys?"

"From Coach Sasabe," Haruka simply replied as he swung the door open. "Usually I don't have an issue with using other ways to get in, but I thought getting arrested for breaking-and-entering was not something we wanted right now."

That joking remark made Makoto chuckle lightly and he could briefly see the corners of Haruka's lips curling upwards into a smile as well before he completely turned his back to him as he walked through the entrance. Naturally, Makoto followed suit.

The dark corridors of the swim club would have made Makoto hesitant and on-edge in any other situation, but Haruka's presence comforted him like nothing else did. Besides, his mind was far too occupied with trying to figure out what Haruka was planning to do here to make shadows and the noises of their shoes squeaking against the floor play tricks on him. Of course, there was only one thing that was usually done at a  _swim_  club, but Haruka hadn't told him to bring a swimsuit or a towel and that confused Makoto. There was one other thing that came to mind - or rather a dear memory that resurfaced - but Makoto didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet nor get his hopes up, so he would simply have to wait and see like Haruka had silently told him to. Nevertheless, whatever it was must have been pretty important if Haruka had planned it far enough ahead to ask Coach Sasabe for the keys. And that knowledge only fuelled Makoto's curiosity.

Even in the darkness the path they were taking was more than familiar to Makoto and soon they set foot into the boys' locker room. Haruka shrugged off his coat before he sat down on one of the benches to take off his shoes and even though he hadn't said anything, Makoto got the hint and started doing the same.

"Are we going to swim?" he couldn't help but ask despite it being pretty clear at this point.

Haruka only let out a small hum in confirmation and he got up once he pulled his socks off, starting to make his way towards the pool area.

A rush of thrill and excitement was sent through Makoto's heart when he processed that his speculations were true. Still, he couldn't just assume what Haruka's intentions were with this not-so-impromptu night swim, so he quickly jumped up to catch up to him.

"I didn't bring a swimsuit," he alluded. It wasn't like Haruka didn't know that, because unlike him, Makoto did not wear swimsuits as a replacement for boxers, but the comment was Makoto's way of asking Haruka if he was right about the thoughts and feelings that had driven them here.

Haruka peered back over his shoulder to look Makoto in the eyes, and the moonlight that shone through the glass ceiling illuminated his handsome face and revealed that there was a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "I didn't either," was all he mumbled before he ran off and leapt into the pool, fully-clothed like they had both been all those years ago.

The nostalgic yet somewhat ordinary sight made giddiness bubble up inside Makoto and he couldn't do anything but giggle lightly before he followed Haruka's example and joined him in the water.

Memories of one particularly special night a little under six years ago washed up naturally as Makoto gently pushed himself through the water. The familiar feeling of his wet clothing making his body a little heavier enabled him to relive that day and he closed his eyes to visualise it. So much had changed since then, yet somehow things were still the same. Though there was an odd, inexplicable nagging at Makoto's chest, something inside of him that told him that drastic changes were about to happen, changes that didn't necessarily have anything to do with Tokyo but completely revolved around this moment. After all, there had to be a reason for Haruka to drag him here; reliving fond memories was nice, but Makoto knew Haruka well enough to know that couldn't be the sole motivator behind his actions.

Considering the words he had spoken to Haruka that night, it was easy to speculate on what Haruka's reasoning may be and Makoto's heart spontaneously started to beat faster. He forced the current to calm though, and wished the ripples of hope away. This was no time to get ahead of himself, he just had to wait until Haruka was ready to tell him how he felt himself. And that was no issue, because he had always been endlessly patient with Haruka, and this time was no exception. For Haruka, he would wait an eternity.

For a while they floated and swam around the pool in silence, setting their own pace yet inevitably syncing as they shared the water together. Soon Makoto felt Haruka moving in a recognisable pattern and without thinking his body found the same rhythm. They swam circles around each other in an intimate dance and Makoto was solely functioning on muscle memory because his mind was completely engulfed with Haruka's beautiful form gracefully swimming around him.

Unlike that night, this time Haruka stopped with his back turned to the surface, hovering above him just so that it looked like his entire body was surrounded by a heavenly light that the moon shone down upon them. The ethereal glow made Haruka look even more astonishingly gorgeous than he usually did and it quite literally took Makoto's breath away because he hadn't thought that was possible. His blue eyes were bright and piercing, making Makoto feel like he was peering right into his soul, reading any secret that he possibly could have locked away in his heart. Tiny bubbles escaped through Haruka's slightly parted lips as they were staring at each other, and his mouth soon morphed into a sweet, almost bashful smile before he reached out his hands to Makoto.

Automatically a tender smile lit up Makoto's own face at the invitation that he himself had offered countless of times in the past and would certainly never pass up on when their roles were reversed. Their hands clasped together in a gentle yet tight grip and Haruka pulled him towards himself. But instead of bringing him up to float side by side, Haruka turned and stood up straight, which urged Makoto to do the same.

The silence that had lingered between them for some time felt a lot more prominent now as Haruka was studying their hands, intertwined like they would never let each other go again.

A small sigh escaped his lips. "That night…" Haruka started and immediately trailed off, like he was still gathering the courage to say what he wanted. When he had presumably found it, he looked up into Makoto's eyes and uttered, "I never gave you a proper response."

Makoto's first instinct was to cut in and deny it, because Haruka  _had_  given him a response, one that was significant and that had meant the world to him. Even if it hadn't conveyed the full extent of what he felt, Haruka didn't need to force himself to say things aloud because Makoto always understood him anyway. But he halted himself because he realised that sometimes it was important to verbalise feelings and he shouldn't rob Haruka of the chance to speak his mind.

So instead, he tightened his hands around Haruka's slightly trembling ones in a way that was meant to reassure and comfort him, that showed his unconditional support. It worked, because Haruka took a deep breath and then he determinedly murmured, "I love swimming and I love you too, Makoto."

When the weight of those words sunk in, Makoto's eyes widened in astonishment as warmth blossomed in his stomach and an impossibly large smile stretched his cheeks. "I love you too, Haru! I love you so much!" he exclaimed unnecessarily, because obviously Haruka knew that already, but he simply couldn't contain the burst of happiness and affection inside of him, burning fiercer than anything else ever had.

A smile that matched his own appeared on Haruka's face, but there wasn't much time for Makoto to admire it before he was pulled underwater. Before his brain had the opportunity to register what was going on, Haruka leaned into him and he felt a small hand cradle his face and soft lips upon his. It caught him slightly off-guard since this wasn't exactly how he had imagined their first kiss, but he definitely wasn't complaining.

So he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Haruka's lithe body as he kissed him back gently yet incredibly passionately, and Makoto knew that nothing would ever feel as right as this: as holding and kissing his Haru-chan.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, I'd love to hear it.
> 
> You can find the beautiful artwork by izzy-the-baka that goes along with this fic [here!](https://twitter.com/IzzyTheBaka/status/1095288342814621696)
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat @DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content between posts and updates.
> 
> I hope to see you again in the future, but for now I wish you all an amazing 2019 full of love, health and happiness! :)


End file.
